1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method.
2. Related Art
Electrophotographic image forming apparatus are known which sequentially transfer and superpose, on an endless intermediate transfer belt, respective color toner images formed on plural photoconductor drums to form a full-color toner image and which cause the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt to be transferred all at once to a recording medium.
Incidentally, given that primary transfer is the transfer of the respective color toner images from the photoconductor drums to the intermediate transfer belt and that secondary transfer is the transfer of the full-color toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording medium, sometimes the speed of the intermediate transfer belt varies when relatively thick recording paper enters the secondary transfer position and is accompanied by shock.
It is known that when the speed of the intermediate transfer belt varies in this manner, an image quality defect called “banding” occurs in which image density varies in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt.
Thus, control of variations in the speed of the intermediate transfer belt and methods of controlling banding accompanying variations in speed have been disclosed.